CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Harriett Elizabeth "Liz" Byrd, the first African-American woman to serve in the Wyoming Legislature, has died at age 88.

Her son, Rep. Jim Byrd of Cheyenne, said Harriett Byrd died Tuesday night at her Cheyenne home.

The Casper Star-Tribune reports that the fourth-generation Wyomingite taught at Fort F.E. Warren and in Laramie County public schools before serving as a Democrat in the House from 1981 to 1988. Byrd was a state senator from 1989 to 1992.

She was instrumental in getting state lawmakers to approve a holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr.

Arrangements are pending for a funeral Mass at St. Mary's Cathedral in Cheyenne on Monday.

 

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